Burgess Family History
Burgess Name Meaning
English: status name from Middle English burge(i)s burgis borgeis ‘inhabitant of a borough’ (strictly one possessing full municipal rights) ‘freeman of a borough’. Burgesses generally had tenure of land or buildings from a landlord by burgage. In medieval England burgage involved the payment of a fixed money rent (as opposed to payment in kind); in Scotland it involved payment in service guarding the town. The -eis ending is from Latin -ensis (modern English -ese as in Portuguese). Compare Burger . Americanized form of French Bourgeois .
Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022